Daily Bits

Mobile

Santa Can’t Deliver Nintendo 3DS This Year

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Come on now, you’re not really surprised are you?  After all, most – if not all – electronics manufacturers do experience delays every now and then.  Sony and Microsoft are pretty much the same way – why not Nintendo?

Anyhow, news about the Nintendo 3Ds has been going around for a while now, which, of course, has excited many a Nintendo fan.  The improved version of the Nintendo handheld gaming console promises a 3D experience to every gamer without having the neeed for 3D glasses.  Now isn’t that something?

Unfortunately, Nintendo just announced that we are not going to see the new console by Christmas.  This is, of course, a disappointment to the fans who have been dreaming of getting a new portable gaming device from Santa this year.  On a more practical note, this move also means big losses for Nintendo.  But who cares about their losses when you can’t have your wish for the holidays?

There’s not much that you can do about it, though, except to wait for March if you’re in the United Kingdom – and the rest of Europe.  If you’re in Japan, then the wait is a bit shorter, as the console will be released by February.  The reason for the delay?

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president says: “At first we thought it would be desirable to launch the 3DS within the year, so we made our forecasts on that basis. At this point it is clear that if we launch within the year, we will not be able to supply enough units.”

Whether or not it’s the real reason, you might want to save some of your Christmas money for February or March, whichever the case may be.

Android turns one: a few interesting statistics

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android-logoAs Google’s Android mobile operating system turns one year old today, here are a few interesting statistics for you.

According to mobile advertising firm AdMob:

  • Android OS now has seven percent global market share. That puts it well behind Symbian, BlackBerry OS and the iPhone OS, but comparable to Windows Mobile.
  • In the UK, 10% of smartphones run Android OS, with the HTC Dream being the second most popular phone for surfing the mobile web after the iPhone.
  • Android’s key markets are North America and Western Europe, with the HTC Magic in the top 10 of smartphones.
  • The HTC Dream is ranked fourth globally.

A survey of 1,000 mobile phone users found that Android users download about nine applications per month, compared with about 10 for iPhone users and over 18 for iPod Touch users.

Though Microsoft is hoping its latest initiatives will push its flavours of Windows Mobile OS forward, I’m sure Android will continue to flourish as more handsets become available in the coming year.

Free laptop with mobile broadband

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The idea of a mobile internet has long been the fantasy of many a geek. With recent advances in technology over the last few years, this fantasy has now become not just a reality, it is fast becoming the norm.
If there are two pieces of tech that has really pushed the concept of surfing the internet ANYWHERE to practically a way of life it will have to be the netbook and mobile broadband.

First, the netbook has made mobile computing truly mobile. These small computers, practically, pocketbook sized laptops are so handy, light and portable you can put a netbook in a small bag. The other important piece in the equation is mobile broadband. WiFi may have untethered us from clumsy Ethernet cables, but it is mobile broadband that has truly freed us and now allows us to roam anywhere while still plugged in to the internet.

The best thing about these technologies is the cost. With netbooks, laptops and mobile broadband falling prices, anyone can have them without any hassle. Now, companies are offering free laptops with mobile broadband to advertise their product or service. Offering free laptops.

“You have three weeks to decide”, Microsoft Tells Yahoo

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The largest acquisition in the history of Microsoft entered round 2 as it gave Yahoo’s board a 3 week timeline to start negotations. In the worst case, Microsoft would have to take the deal to Yahoo’s shareholders directly.

An excerpt from ZDNet:

Ballmer, in his letter, indicated that Microsoft would ask Yahoo investors to tender their shares to the software giant, which would park them until it could get its opposition slate elected. While Microsoft would not be able to gain control of Yahoo by taking that measure, it will send a clear message to Yahoo if enough of the Internet company’s investors side with Microsoft. Basically, it would show Yahoo how successful Microsoft would be in getting its opposition slate of directors elected, when those investors are asked to vote on Yahoo’s new board.

In a response to the above terms, Yahoo mentioned that it was looking for a better deal or no deal at all.

Excerpt from ZDNet:

Yahoo writes: “Your comment that we have refused to enter into negotiations to conclude an agreement are particularly curious given we have already rejected your initial proposal, nominally $31 per share at the time, for substantially undervaluing Yahoo! and your suggestions in your letter and the media that you are considering lowering the value of your proposal. Moreover, Steve, you personally attended two of these meetings and could have advanced discussions in any way you saw fit.”

Yahoo is optimistic about its prospects in the online space with a positive outlook despite the slowdown in the economy. Another important point mentioned is that Microsoft needs Yahoo more than Yahoo wants to team-up with the Redmond giant. And while the battle of “letters” resumes, Yahoo has not let stop its developments in the product space with the recent one being the AMP Ad platform for ad management.

A merger between Yahoo and Microsoft does seem very likely in the future as no other matching bid has come to the fore yet. More crucial is how long it would take for the merger to be completed and how much more ground it cedes to Google in the search space.

Search is more about the inertia of adoption than superior technology. That means that even if Microsoft and Yahoo offer better search compared to Google, Google’s own service will have to deteriorate radically for users to make a switch. That said, parhaps Microsoft has set it eyes on a lot more that just search. Yahoo is a hot web property and with the rate of mobile communication and devices adoption across the globe, there is a shift happening in the medium to access the Internet. In the mobile space, Yahoo has been at the forefront with its partnerships with telecommunication firms and its products that compete well with other offerings in the same space.

With handsets for Google’s Android platform coming out this year, Microsoft also faces more competition in its turf of software for handsets. The big question is how Microsoft manages the acquisition and does not cede ground in technology space (both search and mobile) to Google.

Yahoo Upgrades oneSearch

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At CTIA Yahoo upgraded its oneSearch mobile search to include features such as voice enabled search, predictive text search assist and will also make the oneSearch platform available to third party publishers for better integration with the mobile web.

An excerpt from TechNewsWorld:

Yahoo’s oneSearch 2.0, the new iteration of the company’s year-old mobile search service, will deliver a number of improvements that will allow users to perform quicker, more comprehensive searches through text and voice-based activation, the company said Wednesday.

“With the launch of Yahoo oneSearch in 2007, we revolutionized mobile search by re-creating search specifically for the mobile phone, focusing on answers, not just Web links,” said Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo’s connected life business. “With Yahoo oneSearch 2.0, we are fundamentally changing the way consumers use the Internet on their mobile phones.”

While the oneSearch feature is only available for BlackBerry Curve, Pearl and 8800-series, the roll out internationally for other handsets will take place in coming months. The search feature uses technology from vLingo, a voice recognition technology that gets better with usage.

Yahoo is continuing with the roll-out of its products and plans uninterrupted by the Microsoft’s take-over bid. While the products are not anything new compared to the features offered by its competitors ( Google and Microsoft), there is an advantage that Yahoo has in the mobile front and it wants to keep up with its competitors and even go further ( as in opening the platform for oneSearch).

Voice based technologies are gaining momentum since they make navigating mobile devices simple and easy. Microsoft’s acquisition of tellme last year sent definite signals that voice navigation was seen as a major part of mobile applications.

Zimbra, a Yahoo company has also released its ZimbraME mobile messaging platform.

An excerpt from TMCNet:

“ZimbraME is key to delivering on our strategy and commitment to provide the best experience and widest range of desktop and mobile support of any messaging platform in the market today,” said Satish Dharmaraj, Zimbra co-founder and Yahoo! vice president. “In an increasingly mobile world, a large percentage of people use mass-market handsets and expect to have access to information without needing a smartphone.”

Its good to see that the take-over bid is not halting innovation at the tech giant. Well, not so far.

Google Search Comes to More Nokia Phones

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Nokia and Google announced their partnership to integrate Google search into search applications on more Nokia mobile phones.

An excerpt from Pocket-lint

The team-up will begin with the Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 6220 classic. Google search will be extended to additional Nokia handset models in the future.

Ultimately, Nokia says it will make Google search available to its customers in over 100 countries around the world, serving mobile owners speaking more than 40 languages.

This partnership does not do away with the fierce rivalry that the firms are gunning at with Google’s Android platform set to come to market this year and many of Nokia’s competitors having signed up for that.

Nokia phones already offer Yahoo and Windows Live search as well.